


Take On Me

by actualfox (kien), milkshakespeare



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Pole dancer, Romance, Stripper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-06-05 22:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6725860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kien/pseuds/actualfox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkshakespeare/pseuds/milkshakespeare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fiona.<br/>A girl with high hopes and a job she's ashamed of goes for another job interview just to pay the rent. What she didn't expect to find was a man who's tall whose name is Dan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

5pm.

I had two hours before I had to be at work. I wasn't necessarily proud of my job, but I needed the money, and circumstances meant I was barely able to pay rent. I was athletic enough and I had a decent body; my mom had let me go to dancing lessons when I was young so that helped.

I was a pole dancer.  
Some days I felt it, enjoyed it, even had fun. But some days I felt disgusted with myself, insecure:

Like a slut

This was one of my worse days. I stared at my uniform - if you could even call it that - it consisted of a very short black skirt that pressed to my thighs, a red corset-style top and a pair of booty shorts with the name 'Angel Tower' emblazoned across the ass cheeks. My work name. It had nothing to do with my actual name because I didn't want it to be traced back to me. After all, I had a job interview in a few days; it wouldn't pay much but it would help me get back onto my feet.

I warmed up by doing some stretches and push ups before I applied my make up. I went with a deep smokey eye and a bold red lip to match my uniform. I curled my hair and practiced the part of my routine that didn't require the pole until my ride arrived. My friend Jade rolled the window down and turned the music up as her blonde hair was swept back by the wind.  
"Fiona! We gotta go!" she shouted up at my apartment window. I ran down the stairs with my bag and jumped into the passenger side of her car.  
"Jade, could you try being quiet for once, please? I have neighbours," I pleaded to her with my eyes. She shrugged.  
"You could try being ready on time," she smirked and pulled out of the parking lot, setting off for The Exotic Island.  
____________________________________________________________________________________

~A few days later~

I wore a pair of black skinny jeans, a Led Zeppelin t-shirt and a red checked shirt. I had my chestnut hair pulled back into a messy bun and wore minimal make up. I was sitting in my car across the street from the address I was supposed to go to for my interview, lacking the courage to go in seven minutes early. Jade had already texted me wishing me good luck but I still didn't feel like any kind of luck was on my side. I took a deep breath in... and out. Out of the car. Out of my comfort zone. Outside the door.  
I knocked and a woman looking to be in her mid to late twenties answered. She had black hair with a blonde streak and some really cool eye makeup.  
"Hi, are you here for the interview?" She asked, her voice sweet and a little calming. I nodded, too nervous to speak.  
"I'm Suzy, you must be Fiona, it's great to meet you!" She smiled widely at me and I couldn't help but match it. The position I was hoping to fill would be to be her assistant.  
"So the job will consist of you mainly answering emails, managing my Etsy shop and just generally helping around the Grump space," I gave her a look of confusion.  
"Oh right, my husband has a YouTube channel with our friends called GameGrumps and this is where he records," She led me into a room with a table and six chairs, "So you said you've worked in retail and computers before?"  
"Yeah I worked as a greeter at Urban Outfitters and I did some finance for a small company," I explained, my palms sweating. I really needed this job.  
"You're hard working, organised and not afraid of a challenge. In fact, you seem over qualified for the job," she giggled "when can you start?" She asked. I was surprised she would offer me the job so early.  
"Whenever!" I said a little bit too enthusiastically "oh but I can't work on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights. I have to take care of my niece on those nights," I lied smoothly.  
"That's fine don't worry," she grinned "I'm so glad to have you here, Fiona!" She came round the table and pulled me into a hug, it had been about three months since anyone had given me a hug. I enjoyed it and hugged her back.  
"Let's go meet the other grumps!" She squealed, took my hand and pulled me towards another room before I could protest.  
"Barry! Come meet my new assistant!" She shouted at a man with dark brown hair sitting at a computer. He turned around and smiled before coming over to give me a handshake.  
"I'm Barry, one of the editors. Our other editor, Kevin, isn't here right now but I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you when he gets in." I smiled and shook his hand.  
"I'm Fiona Cook, nothing very interesting to note."  
"Bye Barry!" Suzy grabbed me by the arm again and took me to a different room where two men were standing around having a conversation that stopped when we walked in.  
"Guys! This is my new assistant, Fiona. Fiona, this is Arin, my husband," she indicated the man with a beard and long brown hair that had a matching blonde streak.  
"Well hey there,"  
"Hello," I waved awkwardly.  
"And this is Danny, they do the show together," pointing to a man with wild hair and some stubble.  
"Nice to meet you," he smirked and I muttered a 'hi' to him as our eyes met. I felt as though I couldn't look away until another man walked in and was introduced to me as Ross.

I went home that night and couldn't stop smiling. Hopefully, I could escape this hell hole.

Soon.  
____________________________________________________________________________________

Working for Suzy wasn't too difficult, it was actually pretty fun. I eventually got to meet Kevin and Ross' wife Holly. The guys would invite me to play video games and card games and stuff like that off the show; I sometimes helped Barry and Kevin with the editing. I had grown quite close to all of them but they still didn't know where I actually was when I had to 'look after my niece'. The emails seemed to be piling up and Suzy wasn't in so I wasn't exactly feeling my best. I sat at the desk, worrying about needing to come up with a new routine for work that evening.  
"Fiona?" Dan asked cautiously.  
"Mhm?" I replied  
"Are you ok? I've been saying your name for the last two minutes," he looked at me with genuine concern.  
"Oh sorry, yeah I just have a lot on my mind right now. Thank you for asking," I gave him a small smile.  
"Do you wanna come and get coffee with me?" I was surprised to say the least. Of course, I thought Dan was attractive and I had developed something of a crush but I hadn't expected him to ask me out already.  
"I was doing a coffee run for everyone anyway and it might help clear your head a bit," oh. Honestly, I was a little bit disappointed.  
"Sure."  
We walked down the street and I found us talking about a plethora of random topics from Def Leppard to Zelda and much weirder subjects. We ordered our coffee and returned to the Grump space where Suzy had turned up.  
"Fiona!"  
"Suzy!" I matched her tone. She put her hand to my forehead.  
"Are you ok? Arin said you were staring into space for like an hour and you weren't listening to anyone," she asked swiftly.  
"No no I'm fine, just a lot of things on my mind at the moment is all," I re assured her.  
"Is it about your niece?"  
"My niece? Oh right yeah my niece, she's fine just uh... she has a big project due tomorrow that she wants help with tonight," I covered, almost forgetting my lie. I saw Dan in the corner of my eye, he was not convinced but gladly didn't press it. I mumbled some excuse about needing to wash my face and retreated to the bathroom.  
Am I doing the right thing? I seemed to question myself a lot more recently and it always linked back to the Grumps. Should I tell them? No of course you shouldn't. You wouldn't want them to know you're a slut. Wouldn't want them to know you're hardly holding yourself together.

At least not now.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, tell us about your niece," Dan demanded at the table. We had all been invited for lunch at Arin and Suzy's a few weeks after my near slip. Dan had repeatedly asked about my 'niece' since then and I had avoided being alone with him; I didn't expect him to ask in such a public setting.   
"It's just we've been working together for a good few months and you hardly ever mention her," he continued.   
"Oh she's great," I replied, attempting to evade the question.  
"What's her name? What's she like?" He pressed.  
"Her name's Georgia and, like I said, she's great," I looked down into my food, avoiding everyone's suspicious gazes.  
"How old is she?" Suzy asked, oblivious to Dan's play. I was fully aware that he was trying to find out where I actually went at nights.   
"She's... 13. She's really into music and science,"  
"Maybe we could speak with her about getting into music later in life,"  
"Uh... I think she really wants to do science when she's older. Physics, I think."  
"Oh physics? Well Brian could speak with her then,"  
"Dan, stop it,"  
"I'm just saying if she's really into physics then she could speak with Brian,"  
"Dan, please,"  
"C'mon it'd be great for her she cou-"  
"I said stop it, Dan," I raised my voice. I never raise my voice. I looked up to see Dan's mouth had formed an 'o' shape with traces of guilt floating in his eyes. Suzy put her hand on my shoulder.  
"You know, you can tell us anything, right?"  
"No, I can't," I got up, put my coat on and slammed the door behind me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was shocked, guilty; I hadn't meant to upset her. In the few months that I'd known her I'd learned that she was a quiet, shy person, so her outburst was completely unexpected. The slam of the door pulled me back to reality.  
"Dan, what the hell?" Barry questioned. I looked over at Suzy and saw her feeling visibly upset by Fiona's words.  
"I- I didn't... mean to upset her. I just-"  
"You just what?"  
"I thought it wasn't a big deal,"  
"She asked you to stop. Repeatedly. What the hell is wrong with you?"  
"I don't know," I sighed.  
"Look, dude, you gotta make it up to her,"  
"Yeah, I- I'll talk to her tomorrow,"  
"Good, now, Suzy? Are you alright?" Arin pulled her in for a hug.  
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine just- a little hurt that she says she can't talk to us,"   
"We all are, Suz."

I need to fix this. At least I'm going out with Barry tonight so that can take my mind off things.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Breathe in.  
Breathe out.  
You are hot. You are sexy. You are gonna be the best damn dancer out there tonight.  
"Give it up for Angel Toweeeeeeer!" I hear the announcer give me the cue and the music start playing. I ignore the heels digging into my feet and the uncomfortable stares from the middle aged men whose wives don't know they're here and the bachelor party at the very edge of the stage.  
'Come here rude boy, boy can you get it up' I grab hold of the pole and start my routine. I hear the wolf whistles and disgusting comments from the bachelor party but I tune it out. I spin round the pole one last time and finish by thrusting my head backwards and winking at the obvious groom-to-be. His friends all thought this was hilarious and thus made even more comments about how he should be careful his fiancée doesn't find out.   
'Na na na come on na na na come on'  
I stand up and make my way over to the party, they're always the best tippers.   
"Hello, boys," I greet them seductively.  
"Hey, baby,"  
"Has one of you been very very bad?" I ask, almost repulsed by myself.  
"Aw yeah, Damon here has come here without his future wife's permission,"  
"Oh well I hope it's worth it," I turn around, swaying my ass cheeks to tease them.  
"Aw come on,"  
"No don't go,"  
"Come on, baby," one pleads as I spin around and drop to the floor. I slowly stand up again, making sure my ass was close enough for them to touch. I strutted towards 'Damon' and stepped down from the stage before performing a full lap dance on him. My goal was usually to make them feel like they were the only ones in the room because then they think you've done a good job and tip well; some of them had already stuck a few dollar bills into my cleavage.   
I got back up onto the stage and slowly removed my skirt so I was just in the top and tight booty shorts. I free styled on the pole for a little bit until I slipped my top off so I was just standing in my booty shorts and black lacy bra. It wasn't long until my shorts were torn off to reveal my black thong. I continued my performance, using the pole and multiple more lap dances until my 2 hours were up.   
"Angel Tower everybody, isn't she just stunning?" The announcer received many whoops and shouts after I turned around, smiled, winked and blew a kiss to one of the men at the bachelor party. 

____________________________________________________________________________________

I'd finished my shift, which including waiting on the tables with my tits half out, and set off to find Jade to give her a lift home. I found her outside the front of the building, or rather pressed up against the front of the building, with some guy. She giggled and turned to face me.  
"Hey, I won't be needing a ride home," she was hardly able to hear because her face was soon captured by the man's. I sighed and hoped she would be alright before saying something about calling her tomorrow and leaving to find my car. I turned the corner and immediately smacked into someone; I pulled my coat closer to my body.  
"Sorry I-, Fiona?" a familiar voice reached my ears. My blood ran cold and I felt goosebumps race down my skin. Dan looked down at me with my messy hair and smudged makeup. I could feel his eyes drinking in my appearance so I closed my coat even further and continued walking to my car.  
"H- Hey, Fiona! Where are you going?" he shouted after me, clearly intoxicated. Thank God, hopefully he would forget tonight's events by tomorrow morning. I got into my car and looked in the mirror, I let out a sigh of relief. A tap at my window pulled me out of my self-loathing delusion. Danny. I rolled the window down and was bombarded with his breath.  
"C- Could I get a r- ride home, please?" His eyes begged to me. Even with my mind tearing itself apart, I agreed and opened the passenger door for him. He looked at me with confusion, sadness and guilt floating around his face.   
"You're a stripper," he concluded.   
"Yes,"  
"You work here,"  
"Yes,"  
"You're not looking after your niece,"  
"No,"  
"Do you have a niece?"  
"No, I was an only child,"  
"I know that look," I turned towards him before returning my eyes to the road.   
"It's not a good look, it's a hateful look and I know you don't hate me,"  
"You never know, I could hate you,"  
"You wouldn't've given me a ride home if you did," I couldn't help but agree with him.   
"How did it happen?"  
"How did what happen?"  
"How did you become a stripper?" I was shocked, I hadn't thought he would care how it happened.   
"Well, I needed the money and this girl Jade, my best friend, asked if I wanted to come and work with and then she gave me a million reasons why I should and they out-weighed my handful,"  
"What was in your handful?"  
"It would make me a slut," I could feel him staring at me, not with sympathy but confusion.  
"Fiona,"  
"Dan,"  
"You don't need to worry about being a slut because being a slut isn't even a thing,"  
"But I take my clothes off and dance on people for money,"  
"It's just a job, it's not like you're doing it for free," he had a point. I stopped the car in the parking lot outside his apartment.   
"You're beautiful, Fiona, don't let anyone tell you otherwise," he looked into my eyes. I couldn't believe he'd just said that, to me of all people. Suddenly, it felt as though all the wind was knocked out of me and I couldn't say a word in reply.   
"Thanks for the ride home, see you tomorrow," he opened the car door and I watched him stumble into the building. I took a moment to compose myself and worry that he might remember some of this tomorrow. I hoped he wouldn't but, at the same time

I hoped he would


	3. Chapter 3

I walked into the Grump Space the next morning and made myself some coffee, I was worn out after last night.

How did it happen?

You don't need to worry about being a slut because being a slut isn't even a thing

You're beautiful, Fiona, don't let anyone tell you otherwise 

I shook my head free of last night's encounter. I was anxious to see Dan, honestly. I usually came in kind of early so it wasn't unusual that he wasn't there yet.  
"Hey, Fiona! Are you ok after yesterday?" Barry asked, appearing as if from nowhere.  
"Yeah, already forgotten," I smiled, faking happiness "Have you seen Dan today?"  
"No he's still at home,"  
"Ok well, I'll just get on with work you should too,"  
"Ok sure. Oh by the way, I'm going to a friend's bachelor party with Dan, Arin and Kevin so maybe you and Suzy should hang out?"  
"I guess I kind of upset her yesterday with what I said, huh?"  
"Kinda."  
"I can't tonight I have to look after Georgia again but I'll try to hang out with Suzy some other time. Is she gonna be in today?"  
"No, Arin said she feels sick." I worried about her, probably more than I should've but I had hurt her and needed to make it right, so I texted her.

Hey heard ur not feeling great :/ sorry about last night just touchy about stuff lately ily <3

I waited two minutes for a reply before giving up and getting on with some work. After a while, Arin came into the office and checked I was ok. He was shortly followed by Dan who complained of a splitting headache and looked more pale than a light bulb before being lit up.   
"Oh hey, Fiona I'm so sorry I didn't mean to upset you I just have foot in mouth disease and didn't know it wasn't my place to sa-"  
"It's fine, Dan. Already forgotten." The edges of my mouth lifted the same way they had with Barry but it still didn't feel like a real smile.   
"Di-did I see you last night?" He asked, clearly having no memory of our meeting.  
"No, I was taking care of Georgia so I wouldn't have seen you." I turned to look back at my computer screen and felt him melt away to the couch. We didn't speak for the rest of the working day, in fact I didn't speak to anyone. The tension was too thick and I wasn't built for the trek it would take to get past it.

Hey yeah I threw up a couple of hours ago but I guess I feel ok now. No worries I get it but if u need me I'm here and I promise u can tell me anything :) <3 ily2

I breathed a sigh of relief and started to pack up my things when I heard the guys talking about the party tonight.  
"It's gonna be so awesome, I mean, beer, strippers and Ninja Brian," Dan practically giggled.   
"Yeah but didn't you go there last night?" Arin asked.   
"Did I? I honestly don't remember anything,"  
"Yeah you went to that strip club the 'Exotic Island' and then some random dude drove you home."

Fuck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time'  
An odd choice for the club but a good one nonetheless. I was wiping down tables when they arrived. They'd clearly done some heavy pre drinking but they obviously had the sense to have a designated driver. Barry, Arin and some unknown people burst through the door shortly followed by Dan. Of course he had to be the designated driver...  
I quickly pulled my hair so that it fell and covered my face. I finished wiping tables and retreated to the back of the club.  
'Fiona! You're almost up!'  
I briskly walked backstage in order to compose myself.

You are not Fiona Cook,  
You are Angel Tower,  
You don't know any of the people in the audience tonight,  
You should dance with the bachelor party for more tips,  
No matter what happens, you'll be fine,  
And super duper sexy.

The song began to play and I strutted towards the pole.   
'Give it to me I'm worth it'  
And I really felt it even if it weren't true.   
I heard a few whoops and comments from the crowd, it was pretty busy considering it was Friday night. I finished my routine and tried to block out the states from my friends as a new song started to play so I could do some freestyle on the pole for a few minutes until I had to interact with the audience.   
The time came and I couldn't have been dreading it more.  
'Ah push it'  
I slowly waltzed down the steps to the party and asked one of them who the lucky groom-to-be was before pointing at a slightly awkward (but still beyond drunk) guy. I smiled devilishly and performed a lap dance on him while feeling many dollar bills being placed in my waistband. I turned and immediately made eye contact with Dan.

Huge. Mistake.

I darted my eyes away from him and then accidentally made eye contact with Arin. Dammit. I decided to look at the groom, winked, blew a kiss and strutted away to continue my job of wiping down tables and serving drinks. Crisis hopefully averted. 

My shift was over, finally. It felt like it had been going on for days, I had been avoiding eye contact with the whole party all evening while still trying to act confident enough to convince them they didn't know me. I pushed open the metal door and stepped out into the cold - well seemingly cold considering my uniform didn't exactly cover a lot of flesh - late night.  
'Georgia, eh?' I jumped as his voice pulled me back into reality.  
'How is she? You know, Georgia, your 'niece'?'  
'I can't talk about this right now, you're drunk,'  
'No, I'm not. I drove everyone else home already,'  
'Still. I can't deal with this,'  
'Fio- hey what's wrong? Your eyes are all red, have yo- have you been crying?' He put his hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me.  
'No I'm fine,' I shook his hand off me but it only made me miss his touch.   
'C'mon, lemme take you home,' he offered.  
'I'm fine,' I insisted and tried to walk past him. He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked deep into my eyes.  
'Fiona, we care about you not what you do. Just remember that,' he said. He let go of me, turned and walked away from me. All I could do was stand there as I watched him pull out of the parking lot. It was only then that I realised I had been shivering and he had somehow removed his jacket and left it in my hands. I looked at it for a moment before pulling it close around me, engulfing my whole body in warmth. I noticed the smell when I went to turn my car key in the ignition. It smelt like him.

It smelt like Dan.


	4. 4

"That'll be $2.99," I gave the barista the money, muttered a thank you and left Starbucks. Holding my piping hot cup of coffee in my gloved hands, I stepped out into the strong wind. I briskly walked into the large shopping mall illuminated by each individual shop window. We had recently been hit with a freeze-wave which I suppose was natural considering it was September.

It had been about a week since my run in with Dan. I hadn't been to the Grump Space, instead choosing to work from home. Suzy was absolutely fine with it, of course, and she never asked why. I couldn't bear the thought of facing him, facing my embarrassment. What would he think of me? He'd think I was just some whore who did what she did because she failed school or something.

I sighed with contentment as the rich liquid slithered down my throat, the warmth resonating throughout my body. I hadn't bought much, only a book and some make up, when I entered the clothing store. I had been meaning to get some clothes since I had braces the last time I'd been shopping. I flicked through the different fabrics and my thoughts travelled back to the confrontation. It had hardly left my mind, no matter how much I willed it to stop keeping me up at night.

"Fiona!" I spun around to find Suzy making her way over to me.   
"Hey, Suzy," I smiled.   
"How have you been? Have you been sick? What's going on? The office just isn't the same without you," she gushed as I took in all the information.   
"I'm fine, y-yeah I had a cold and my, uh, car needs repairing so I think it'd be better if I didn't come back for a little while, sorry."  
"Aw that sucks! Well, Arin and I can give you a ride if you need it? Oh! Actually, Danny lives really close to you. I'm sure he'd drive you!"  
"Oh, uh, no it's fine! Thanks for the offer, though. Where's Arin?"  
"He's at the GameStop next door, you should come say hi! Barry and Ross are there too, I think," her eyes pleaded to me. I knew she knew something else was up but I wasn't sure if she knew it involved Dan.  
"Uh... sure," I gave a weak smile, there couldn't be any harm in just saying hi and Danny wasn't even there.

"Hey guys," I forced a smile to the three men, engrossed in choosing video games.  
"Hey, Fiona!" Barry said, giving me a toothy grin. Ross waved at me as Arin perused the different titles, presumably for a new series on the show.   
"Sorry I haven't been in for a while, I've just not been feeling well and I-"  
"Fiona," I spun around as time seemed to slow down. Dan stood there with his unruly jew-fro and packets of Skittles, I could see it in his eyes.   
His confusion.   
His disappointment.   
His excitement at finally being able to ask all his questions.   
"Uh... Hey, Dan," I stumbled over my words.  
"How have you uh been?"  
"I've been better. You?"  
"I'm good..." I could feel Suzy's gaze resting on our brief exchange, the gears in her head slowly turning. She was clearly trying to find a way to cut the tension that was thick as a stack of encyclopedias.

I couldn't take much more as my face started burning red and my eyes began to tear up at the thought of everyone rejecting me, being disgusted at what I do.   
"I gotta go, sorry, bye," I mumbled as I pushed past Dan towards the exit. I was abruptly stopped as I felt a hand grab my arm. I turned back to see him staring into my eyes intently, obviously wanting some answers.   
But I just couldn't give him answers.   
Not now. Not ever.   
I yanked my arm away from him and continued towards the mall exit.   
"Hey! Fiona!" I continued on, not looking back.   
"Fiona!"  
"What?"  
"What do you mean 'what?'? You've been avoiding me all week! You can't just do that, I was so worried about you,"  
"Why? Why would you be worried about someone like me?"  
"Because I care about you," I was taken aback. Of course Danny and I were friends but he said it with such sincerity and conviction that I couldn't help but hesitate in my escape as my heart lurched into my throat. I stared at him, dumbfounded.   
"I don't care about what you do, I don't care about the way you have to dress. I care about you, so goddamn much," I was speechless as he stepped towards me. He wrapped his arms around me in the middle of the mall. I hugged him back and breathed in his scent, the same as on his jacket.

And I couldn't help but smile.

***

We sat opposite each other in the independent cafe, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans soaking me in delight. I simply had hot cocoa while Dan had a black coffee. I stirred the brown liquid around and around, avoiding eye contact with him.   
"Fiona, I-"  
"So you-" we spoke at the same time. I looked away, hiding behind my hair as I blushed.  
"I'm sorry I freaked you out the other night," he struggled to meet my gaze.   
"I-it's ok, I'm sorry you had to see me like that. It's disgusting."  
"It's not disgusting. I thought you were amazing, I had no idea you were that physically fit and you were really like... hot and sexy it was crazy-" he stopped in his rambling as he realised what he had said.  
"Uh, thanks but I don't do it for enjoyment, I do it to pay the rent," my face was more flushed than ever.   
"You should teach classes, you know."  
"I guess I could but I wouldn't know how to get started and it's a lot of work."  
"I remember what happened the first night I saw you."  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah."  
"And?"  
"I remember what I said to you when you drove me home, do you?"  
Of course I did, it had hardly left my mind.   
"Yeah."  
"Good, because I meant it... I'm sorry, I have to ask, why didn't you say anything after the first time I saw you?"  
"I-I was just so embarrassed, I hadn't planned for you guys to find out, especially as you were giving me a job so I could get back on my feet with rent an-"  
"Hold on, are you having money troubles? Are you behind on your rent?"  
"I'm not behind, I just use a lot of my money to stay there. Don't worry, it's not important."  
"No, it is important. You know, Barry and I have a spare room you could stay there?"  
"No no it's fine, thank you though."  
He looked at me, clearly concerned.   
"Really. It's fine," I insisted. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes not leaving mine.  
"Ok. If you say so, but the offer will always be there."  
We fell into a comfortable silence for a brief moment.   
"Listen, I don't care what you do but are you gonna tell the others?"   
"I don't know. Probably sometime soon but please don't tell them."  
"I won't." He gave me a look which told me I should tell them as soon as possible but I couldn't help but be nervous. After all, it's not exactly a popular career choice.

What would they think of me now?

***

We made our way back to the others as my mind was swimming with doubts and worries. I hadn't been able to face any of them for the whole week so this impromptu confession meant I was more than a little uptight.   
"Hey guys, sorry about that," I chuckled slightly, trying to ease my screaming anxieties.  
"It's cool, hey I gotta go to the bathroom, wanna come with? Yep? Great," Suzy rambled out before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into the restroom.  
"So what the hell happened?"  
"Uh, did you need to pee?"  
"What? No of course I didn't, I wanted to talk to you alone," Suzy was too sneaky for me.   
"Well basically, uh, I have this secret and Dan found out and Arin might know but he was kinda drunk and I've been avoiding Dan all week because he totally confronted me about it and now he wants me to tell everyone but I'm super scared to tell anyone," I gushed. I let out a breath I had been subconsciously holding.  
"Wow."  
"Yeah."  
"Did he kiss you?"  
"What, no! Why would you think that?"  
"I don't know just the way he looks at you and you look at him but whatever. So what is this secret anyway?"  
"I'm a stripper."  
"What?" I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and my throat about to close up.  
"I said I'm a stripper. Well, mostly pole dancer I don't really do the stripping stuff most nights."

Beat.

"That's..."  
"Gross, I know."  
"That's so awesome!" I was taken aback at how accepting she was.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You should totally do classes! I really wanna lose some weight so this would be great," she gasped.   
"You must be so sexy and I had no idea! Oh my god let me come and see you, please? Please please please please pleeeeeaaaaase?" she begged.   
"Uh, sure. So you're not mad?"  
"Mad? Why would I be mad?"  
"I don't know..." I trailed off, because I really didn't know anymore.   
"I'm assuming that you actually go to that club The Exotic Island when you're looking after 'Georgia'? Ok so I'll see you at the club on Tuesday at like 8? Oh whatever, I'll bring Arin and we'll just stay until you can leave."  
"Uh, yeah sure," I was frozen in place.  
"Maybe I'll bring Dan too..."  
"Sure,"  
"And maybe I'll bring Barack Obama."  
"Whoever you wanna bring."  
"Fiona, do you know what I just said?"  
"What?" She laughed.  
"I'll see you at the Grump Space on Monday," she said as she left me to stand in the restroom alone. Now I just had to muster up the courage to tell the rest of the guys...

Oh shit, Suzy and Arin and maybe Dan and Barack Obama we're going to see me pole dance on Tuesday.

Better polish up my routine.


End file.
